Motor-vehicle construction



d.Rid-24, 1928.

C. F. DRUMM, JR., ET AL MOTOR VEHICLE CONSTRUCTION Filed peo. 5, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v Patented Jan. 214, 1928.

UNITED STATES g 1,656,942 PATENT OFFICE,

CHARLES E DRUMM, JR., oEAsToRIA, ANI) HENRY E. sI-IIELns, OE 'EREEPoRn NEW YORK, AssIGNoRs To INTERNATIONAL MOTOR COMPANY, or NEW YORK, N. Y., .A

CORPORATION on DELAWARE.

. MOTOR-VEHICLE CONSTRUCTION.

Application led December 3, 1925. Serial No. 72,933.

Under present daypractice in motor vehicle construction the fuse and junction block and yother switches controlling the various electric circuits 4throughout the vehicle are f 5 carried upon the'dash'board or other part of the body where they are accessible but disposed so as not to interfere with the operation `and use of the vehicle; The vehicle body is lremovable from the chassis frame while the electric wiring connecting the fuse and junction block and the like with the head and -tail llights and the other electrical devices associated with :the engine are supported directly upon the frame and hence not readily removable'therefrom. It is thus frequently necessary when aitixing or removing the body of the vehicle to cut the various electrical circuits, necessitating considerable labor and skillv in rtheir reinstatement. object of the ,present invention is to so disposev the 'fuse and junction block and the switches and fuses and switch and fuse wiring at a centralized point for the distribu-k tion of wires for the'chassis and body in '25 such manner thatindependent connections and disconnections of all chassis and body wires may be readily effected and the chas-` vsis may be completely wired and all instruments and electrical equipment inserted in 30 proper location at the factory. The body can proper terminals rwill vbe fused andconnected to the proper'switch in simple and ex` peditious manner. More particularly the invention involves a switch and fuse block which may be assembled and wired on the 40 bench at the factory as a unit and which is adapted. to be hingedly supported from the chassis in such manner that the wiring can be inspected or repaired without removing same from its mounting. One aspect of the invention involves the mounting of a ,uni-

tary switch and fuse block directly upon the chassisl frame by a hinged connection and forming the drivers seat base as a housing within which the block is disposed', the switches beingv accessible by the arrangement of the switchboard at the side of the drivers seat and the` fuse block and connections therewith being accessible preterably by merely raising vthe seat oi the base.

The

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into eect the same will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, in which: Figure l 1s a view in side-elevation showing the base for a drivers seat and the unitary switch and fuse block hingedly con-V supported upon a seat base carried in any convenient manner upon a section cV of the floor of the vehicle. The ioor c may be re 'i movably supported in any convenient manner (not shown) from the chassis rameof the vehicle. A longitudinal sideframe mem# ber of the chassis is indicated at d and there having an upright flange e extending through an aperture c in the loor of the vehicle. Hingedly connected as at c to the flange c is the unitary switch andfuse block f comprising a fuse panel fto whichthe hinge is secured and a switch box f2 which maybe securedA to the fuse panel by brackets f illustrated as formedy with a cutout portionv Side wall bf'is is shown as secured thereto a bracket e and i Aformed of the front and rear walls b2, b and the sidewalls b4, b5.

as at Z9 through which the brackets f3 extend f change the fuses f5, for instance. It is prethe front of the base as a, so that by tipping the seat Jforward about the pivot a; the A fuses are disclosed to View and by then swinging the fuse block about the pivot e the wiring as at 7L is easily accessible. A pilot light f isprovided -to illuminate the face of the fuse block and clins f7 may also be provided ttor spare fuses. Racks may also be disposed along the interior walls of the sea-t base 'for tools, lunch b xes and the like.

By the construction just rdisclosed the main electric circuits for the vehicle may be accommodated in a cable t' carried with the chassis frame member Z and from this cable may extend to the fuse and switch block kthrough the aperture cdin the licor. The

fuse and junction block and the switchesV and fuses and switch and iuse wiring are always accessible. at a centralized point from which the wires for the chassis and body are distributed and independent connections and disconnections oi' all body and chassis wires connected to the proper switch and the load readily recorded on an ammeter for testing. The junction block binding posts may be numbered and a corresponding number attachedto the lead wire' therefrom whereby the connections and disconnections may be made fool proof. The construction according to the invention permits the switch and fuse black to be assembled and wired on the bench and mounted as a unit and may be so hinged to the chassis frame that the wiring may be inspected or Yrepaired without removing the same from its mounting.V The housing or seat base, in addition, forms a convenient location for racks or receptacles for tools, spare fuses, light bulbs and lunch boxes, etc.

Various modifications may be made in the arrangement or coniguration of the device as a whole and no limitation is intended by the illustrations or description except as indicated in the accompanying claim.

vWhat we claim is:

in a motor Vehicle having a chassis frame and a vehicle body with a floor supported thereon, an opening in the floor, a seat hinged upon the Vbody above said opening, wiring on the chassis frame, a fuse block hingedly supportedV directly on the chassis frame beneath the seat Vand extending through said Vopening and carrying electrically connected ruses, brackets secured to the 'use block and carrying an independent and unitary switch block7 and wiring between the fuses and the switches and the wiring onvthe chassis frame whereby the fuse and svn? tch structure will be carried as a unit upon the chassis trame independently of the body.

This speciiication signed this-25 day of November, A. l). 1925.

CHARLES F. DnUMM, JR. HENRY B.- si-rrELns. 

